The Russian President instructed the government, together with the Central Bank, to submit proposals on the implementation of preferential mortgage programs for the coming years by the end of March.

The corresponding order was made by Vladimir Putin following a meeting on economic issues.

"The Government of the Russian Federation, together with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, submit proposals on the procedure for the implementation of preferential mortgage programs in 2021-2024, including considering the possibility of lowering the interest rate under the preferential mortgage program for families with two or more children," the list says published on the Kremlin website.

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and the head of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina were appointed responsible for the execution of the order.

The government will also consider increasing the amount of funding for activities "included in the schedule for solving the problems of citizens affected by unfair actions by developers, in order to complete them ahead of schedule."

According to the January report of the DOM.RF analytical center, last year banks issued the maximum amount of mortgage loans to Russians for the entire observation period - 1.7 million loans totaling 4.3 trillion rubles.

Experts noted that one of the reasons for this dynamics was the decrease in lending rates against the backdrop of the Central Bank's policy.

So, from January to November 2020, the average mortgage rate in Russia decreased from 9% to 7.36% per annum.

In addition, in April 2020, a preferential mortgage program was launched for new buildings at 6.5% per annum, which was later extended until July 2021.

Under the terms of the program, it is possible to obtain a loan at a reduced rate when purchasing apartments worth up to 12 million rubles in the Moscow and St. Petersburg agglomerations, as well as up to 6 million rubles in other regions of the country.

It is reported that only within the framework of this initiative, banks issued more than 345 thousand loans totaling more than 1 trillion rubles.

According to experts, the launch of the preferential mortgage program has accelerated the recovery of the construction industry from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the boom in demand for real estate has led to a significant increase in housing prices.

According to experts, over the year the cost of apartments increased by 10-12%.

In addition, according to a study by the National Bureau of Credit Histories, over the past five years, there has been a significant reduction in the share of citizens under 30 in the structure of mortgage issuance.

If in 2015 this category accounted for 30.8% of housing loans, then in 2020 - 21.4%.

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At the end of December 2020, during a joint meeting of the State Council and the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that, according to the government, at least 120 thousand families will use the concessional mortgage program in the next three years.

At the same time, Vladimir Putin urged the government to respond in a timely manner to the rise in prices for housing in Russia.

According to him, although the program of concessional housing loans at 6.5% is still working, the market almost immediately reacted to the allocation of significant resources.

“If housing prices continue to rise, then a significant part of our efforts aimed at providing housing for a larger number of citizens, if not reduced to zero, then, in any case, these efforts will be seriously affected,” the President stated.

“It is necessary to look at this very carefully and react accordingly, I mean, first of all, the possibilities of the industry,” he stressed.

In turn, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that the government plans to work to reduce the average mortgage rate to 6%, and Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov suggested considering the possibility of extending the concessional lending program - "to create long-term supply and demand."

“Without this program, it will be very difficult to achieve the indicators of the national housing target.

To increase the volume of housing commissioning to 120 million square meters, it is necessary to ensure the integrated development of the territories.

Serious steps have been taken in this direction this year.

The State Duma adopted a corresponding law.

On behalf of the regions, I will say that the law will give a new impetus to housing construction, bring old industrial territories into circulation and renew the urban environment, ”Minnikhanov explained.